


i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day

by lostariels



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Just Roll With It, New Year's Day, New Year's Eve, New Year's Kiss, One Shot, i'm always a slut for taylor swift, idk - Freeform, me writing fluff? it's getting more likely than you think, so this is based on her song
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 06:12:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13229709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostariels/pseuds/lostariels
Summary: "We threw a big New Year's Eve party in London this year, and I was thinking about how everybody talks and thinks about who you kiss at midnight. Like it's this big romantic idea of like, 'Who are you gonna kiss at midnight, like ring in the New Year.' And I think that is very romantic. But I think there's something even more romantic about who's gonna deal with you on New Year's Day. Who's willing to give you Advil and clean up the house. I think that states more of a permanence." - Taylor Swift





	i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day

**Author's Note:**

> so this is based on the song new year's day by my girl taylor swift, and it's super sweet so I had to do it for new year's day. I hope the start of 2018 is treating you all well

            She’d forgotten the ice. After all of the immaculate planning, with decorations and food, and orders of the best liquor in the city, Lena had forgotten to buy ice for it all. The party was only _just_ about to start, and only Kara was there with her friends, because of _course_ she would be there a little early to help Lena set up, and of course she would’ve dragged her sister and friends along to help. As soon as they’d arrived, they’d started drinking what was in the fully stocked fridge, and it wasn’t until Lena was about to fill up all of the metal buckets she’d bought to distribute around the room, that she realised she’d _forgotten_ the ice.

 

            Having drunk too much to drive, she’d called a cab, and Kara had volunteered to accompany her to help her carry it all, and they’d filled up a trolley at the nearest store, and found themselves in the back of another cab. Lena looked up as a warm hand touched hers, and Kara squeezed it quickly - three times in reassurance - and gave her a small smile.

 

            “Don’t worry, I’m sure the party will be great,” Kara quietly told her.

 

            “It’s going to be a long night,” Lena murmured, feeling a little nervous about hosting her first party. She’d never had friends to invite before, but now she had Kara, and Sam, and all of Kara’s friends, who had sort of become hers by association. Lena had the biggest apartment out of them all, and she’d leapt at the opportunity to throw a party for New Years, partly so that she could make Kara happy, but now she was _almost_ regretting it. What if people didn’t like the music? What if no one showed up? What if they ran out of food and alcohol and people started to leave because they got bored? Lena wanted to prove that she wasn’t a loser, and that she could throw a good party, even if she’d never thrown one before. She wanted to end the year on a good note.

 

            Before long, they were back at her apartment, carrying the ice through the lobby, leaving a trail of water droplets on the marble floor as they walked over to the elevator. The ride up to Lena’s penthouse apartment was quick, with Kara chatting away, almost oblivious to Lena’s nervousness. A few more people had showed up while they’d gone - namely Veronica Sinclair, who had surprised Lena by accepting her invitation, and Jess, ever the faithful secretary - and Lena greeted them warmly as she emptied ice into the metal buckets. Everyone already had drinks in their hands, so she set about putting bottles of red and white wine, bottles of beer and cider, and some cans of soda in the tubs, letting them chill in the ice. Music was already blasting from the speakers, and Kara was already picking at the snacks with Winn. So far, everything was going smoothly, and Lena filled herself up a glass of white wine and quickly drained it.

 

            “You know, I’m going to make sure you have the _best_ night of your life tonight,” Kara whispered in her ear, and Lena sheepishly smiled at her as she lowered her glass, rolling the stem between her fingers as she looked at the red lipstick mark staining the rim.

 

            “Oh yeah?” Lena asked, a slight challenge in her voice as she arched an eyebrow at Kara.

 

            “But if you keep up this pace, and black out before midnight, I guess I’ll be there to hold your hair back for you while you ring in the new year throwing up,” Kara laughed, plucking the glass out of Lena’s hand, while Lena blushed slightly.

 

            “Sounds like you don’t have much faith in me,” Lena said, rolling her eyes as she leant against the counter and tilted her head to the side. Her fingers gently brushed over the tight fitted dress, making sure it was perfectly clinging to her body, and she felt her heart leap slightly as Kara watched the movement.

 

            Clearing her throat slightly, Kara gave her bright smile, brushing a blonde curl out of her face, “I _always_ have faith in you.”

 

\---

 

            The party was in full swing, with the lights dimmed, strobe lights flashing, and the music pumping almost loud enough to rattle the foundations of the apartment. Lena’s apartment was packed with people shouting over the music, laughing and dancing, and generally getting drunk as they slowly emptied the contents of the metal tubs. Everyone wore headbands with tassels, or plastic glasses and party hats in shades of silver and gold, and someone had brought along some glow sticks, and everyone was well and truly on their way to having a killer hangover the next morning.

 

            “Say cheese,” Alex said, taking Kara’s polaroid camera off her and aiming it at Kara and Lena. They were both wearing the plastic glasses wrought in the shape of the new year, and Lena smiled as Kara wrapped her arms around her waist, leaning her chin on her shoulder, and her heart fluttered slightly at the closeness. They were friends now - they hugged regularly, had frequent brunch dates and drank wine as they talked about everything and anything - but Lena couldn’t deny her feelings when her best friend was so warm as she pressed up against her. She couldn’t tell Kara about them either, but oh how she wished she could right then. How much she wished she could have the romance of a New Year’s kiss just _once_ in her life.

 

            The click and flash of the polaroid went off, and a small rectangle printed out, but was abandoned at Maggie’s loud shout. “One minute!”

 

            Everyone started excitedly cheering, and the music was turned down as party poppers filled with glitter and sequins were passed around in preparation of the new year rolling around. Lena drained the rest of her wine and set her glass down on the nearest surface, letting Kara drag her into the middle of the mass of heaving bodies, a look of excitement in her eyes as the flashing strobe lights intermittently illuminated her face.

 

            As the clock neared midnight, everyone began to countdown, their loud voices mingling together into a chant, and Lena counted along with them. “Five, four, three, two, one!”

 

            The room erupted into cheers as everyone popped their poppers, showering everyone in glitter, or blew the little party horns. Lena smiled widely as she turned to Kara, “happy-“

 

            She was cut off by Kara cupping her face in her hands and pressing a hard kiss to her lips. Eyes wide open in surprise, Lena froze for a split second, before her eyelids fluttered shut, and she pushed back against Kara’s lips, reveling in the feeling of how soft and warm they felt against her own. It didn’t last long, and they broke apart to the sound of loud whistles, courtesy of James and Maggie, while Alex, Winn and Sam looked at them with identical open-mouthed expressions of shock.

 

            “New year,” Lena lamely finished the previous sentence she’d been saying, not knowing what else to say as a flushed looking Kara stared at her with an uncertain look on her face, biting her lip as she waited for Lena’s reaction.

 

            Kara let out a surprised laugh, reaching out to try and fix Lena’s smudged lipstick, before leaning in to make herself heard over everyone, as the party fell back into full swing. “Happy new year.”

 

\---

 

            Lena groaned as she struggled to sit upright in bed, her head spinning, and the tight black dress from last night still clinging to her body. A lump beside her let her know that someone else was sleeping beside her, and she knew it was Kara by messy tangle of blonde hair splayed across the pillow. Groaning again, she flopped back down against the pillows, her eyes watering at the harsh sunlight that filtered into her apartment through the open curtains. Her stomach twisted, and Lena rolled over, burying her face into her pillow as she willed her hangover to go away, and a moment later, a warm arm wound around her waist, and Lena quietly laughed as she lifted her head up. Kara’s eyes were closed, and she breathed evenly through slightly parted lips, ringed in smudged red lipstick that wasn’t her own, and a stray lock of hair fell into her face. Reaching out, Lena carefully brushed it out of the way with gentle fingers, quickly pulling her hand back when Kara’s eyelids flew open to reveal blue eyes.

 

            A lazy smile stretched across her face as she looked at a wary Lena, and Kara slowly sat up, the blankets falling down to her waist as she rubbed at her tired eyes. Mascara came away on the palms of her hands, leaving black rings around her eyes, and Lena quietly laughed. “Good morning.”

 

            “Morning,” Kara said, frowning slightly as she got her bearings, “is this your bedroom?”

 

            “Yeah,” Lena quietly said.

 

            Eyebrows rising slightly, Kara blinked a few times, the memories of last night slowly coming back to her as she looked around. “What time is it?”

 

            Rolling over, Lena reached for the alarm clock on the nightstand, groaning when she saw the time, “it’s only nine o’clock. I feel like I’m dying.”

 

            Laughing, Kara threw back the covers, her feet touching the cold hardwood floor as she pulled down her dress and ran a hand through her hair. “Too much vodka, Miss Luthor?”

 

            “No, I think it was the tequila that did me in. Now I remember why I never drink it,” Lena grumbled, climbing out of bed and stretching her aching muscles, “fuck, I’m getting too old for this.”

 

            “Come on, grandma,” Kara said, smiling over her shoulder as she made her way towards the bedroom door. Lena lurched after her, muttering curses under her breath as she pressed a hand to her head, stepping out into the hallway. A gold balloon almost tripped her up as she walked down the hallway, and she cursed as she kicked at it, before walking out into the main area of her apartment. More balloons, in shades of black, silver and gold littered the floor, and were carefully pinned at intervals around the room. Streamers in similar colours were hanging everywhere, and some were curled on the floor, having been pulled down during the party. Everywhere Lena looked she saw a fine layer of glitter and tiny little sequins with the new year, and she grumbled at how long it was going to take to clean up the mess. She didn’t even comment on the sheer number of empty and half-empty bottles and cans that littered every single surface, or the crumbs of food and melted candle wax that pervaded the floor of the whole apartment.

 

            “Remind me to _never_ throw a party again,” Lena said to Kara, who laughed as she walked over to the kitchen, rinsing out an empty glass and filling it with water, before pulling open a drawer and rifling through the contents. Lena didn’t care – she liked how Kara made herself at home in Lena’s apartment whenever she was there. It made her feel warm inside.

 

            “Hey, do you have any Advil?” Kara asked.

 

            “Check the third drawer,” Lena hoarsely replied, thinking that she could use some for herself right about now. Before she could join Kara in the kitchen, her friend was already back in front of her, with two little pills and the glass of water in hand, holding them out to her with a small smile on her face. “I love you right now,” Lena told her, relief colouring her voice as she gratefully took the pills, swallowing them immediately and chasing them down with the glass of water.

 

            Kara laughed, “you should take a shower; it’ll make you feel better.”

 

            “Mm, yeah, you’re right,” Lena hummed, setting the glass down on the nearest clear space she could find. She looked at Kara, who was watching her intently, and blushed slightly, remembering their kiss last night, unsure if Kara still remembered. “Um, you’re all good here?”

 

            “Yeah, I’m good,” Kara assured her, her nose wrinkling as she pushed her glasses up her nose. Lena’s face softened at the warm smile, and she returned it, before turning around and making her way back to her bedroom. Rifling around in her closet, Lena pulled out a National City University sweater that she’d forgotten to return to Sam, and a pair of jeans, before she walked into her bathroom, letting out a loud yelp when she saw Alex sleeping in the bathtub.

 

            Eyes flew open at the exclamation of surprise, and Alex sat up, her hands gripping the sides of the bath as she peered up at Lena, who was frozen in shock. “Morning,” Alex slowly said, pushing herself up and stumbling as she climbed out of the bath, as if it was completely normal.

 

            “Um, hi,” Lena said, “I was just going to shower.”

 

            “Yeah, I’m going to go and find … who else is here?” Alex asked, frowning in confusion.

 

            “Kara,” Lena told her, “I thought it was just Kara, but …”

 

            Alex slowly nodded, “right, yeah, I’m just going to go.”

 

            Nodding, Lena locked the door behind the other Danvers sister, shaking her head as she peeled off her dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and let out a heavy sigh; fake eyelashes were half peeling off, the remnants of red lipstick ringed her lips, and her own mascara had left circles around her eyes too. And everywhere there was glitter – stuck to her skin, which held the odour of a dozen kinds of alcohol that she’d apparently spilt on herself last night, and a shower of gold and silver rained down around her as she ran a hand through her messy dark hair. That was going to take weeks to go away.

 

            Dumping her clean clothes on the floor, Lena turned on the water, before climbing underneath it and letting out a small sound of gratitude as the cool water splashed over her flushed skin. She didn’t want to run it too hot, because she already felt a bit sickly – even though the Advil was already working its magic – but the cool water was soothing as she scrubbed herself clean with vanilla scented soap. By the time Lena stepped out of the shower, wrapping a fluffy towel around herself, she felt marginally better, and even more so once she’d brushed her teeth, getting rid of the disgusting taste of alcohol that coated her tongue. Dressed, with a towel in hand as she rubbed the ends of her damp hair, Lena walked back through her bedroom, frowning slightly at the neatly made bed, which she certainly hadn’t done, and then out into the hallway, where the smell of coffee drifted towards her.

 

            Much to her surprise, Sam, Maggie and Winn were all still there, looking dishevelled, having passed out in various locations around the apartment, and Kara was wearing a fluffy bathrobe from one of the guest bathrooms, with her own hair a damp tangled mess from the hasty shower she’d taken. Lena mumbled a greeting to everyone as she stepped in glitter and sequins, sighing exasperatedly as they stuck to the bottom of her feet. No one said much, feeling very much hungover, and once Sam, Alex and Maggie had found their shoes, they all said their goodbyes, taking Winn with them as they made their way down to the lobby of the building, shoes in hand, and last night’s clothes still on. Kara smiled from the kitchen – it was just the two of them, and Lena couldn’t help but wonder why she’d stayed – and the smell of something about to burn caught her attention. A moment later, a plate full of toast was being buttered, as Kara chattered.

 

            “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind that I took a shower. I could smell the alcohol, and it was making me feel all sticky and gross. Do you just want butter? Or do you have something else on your toast? I made coffee as well – I’ll pour you a cup now,” she babbled, while Lena watched on in amazement. She would’ve told Kara to stop, but she was too startled by the fact that Kara was taking care of her, which shouldn’t have been surprising, because Kara was always there for her.

 

            “Butter’s fine,” Lena slowly said, crossing the room and freezing in her tracks when she stood on something that stuck to the bottom of her foot – it wasn’t glitter this time – and she peeled off a polaroid that had been taken with the camera Kara had brought with her. Smiling, Lena looked down at the photo of herself, with Kara’s arms around her waist, and her chin resting on Lena’s shoulder. It was from last night, and they both had cheap plastic glasses in the shape of the new year, smiles on their faces, and glasses of wine in hand.

 

            “What’ve you got there?” Kara asked, picking her way across the room, with a plate of toast in hand, and gingerly balancing the two cups of coffee as she held both handles in her other hand, trying not to spill any.

 

            Lena turned the polaroid around, laughing as she showed Kara, “us from last night.” In the cleanest patch she could find, Kara sank down to the floor, placing the plateful of toast on top of the glitter strewn hardwood floor, and setting down a cup on either side of it. As Lena sank down opposite her, she held her hand out for the polaroid, her shoulders hunching over as she bent her head to look down at the photo, a warm smile spreading across her face. Looking up at Lena, she held it back out to her, and Lena slowly took it, looking down at it again. “Do you mind if I keep this one? I’d, uh, I’d like to have something to help me hold on to the memories from last night.”

 

            “Is your memory that bad?” Kara blurted out, before her cheeks turned pink.

 

            “So you _do_ remember!” Lena exclaimed, her own face flushing red with embarrassment.

 

            Kara laughed, shrugging self-consciously, “I mean, I wasn’t _that_ drunk, and it was quite a kiss.”

 

            Snatching up a piece of toast, Lena crammed it into her mouth and took a bite so she wouldn’t have to answer right away. Kara watched her with a faint look of amusement on her face, the corners of her lips slightly curling up, and Lena sighed, tilting her head to the side as she looked at Kara, her face softening as she smiled slightly. “It was quite a kiss,” she agreed.

 

            “Is that- is it _okay?”_ Kara nervously asked, a look of concern filling her eyes as she looked at Lena.

 

            “That we kissed?” Lena asked, letting out a quick laugh, “sure, Kara, it was New Year’s Eve.”

 

            Blushing, Kara pushed her glasses up her nose, gently clearing her throat as she avoided meeting Lena’s gaze. “I know, it’s just … you see- the thing is, I would hate it if anything came between us. I’d hate it if you ever became a stranger … I couldn’t- I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. You see, I wanted to kiss you at midnight last night, but … I want to kiss you even more this morning. And not in a New Year’s Eve kind of way. Not as a friend.”

 

            Heart fluttering in her chest, Lena bit her lip to try and stop herself from smiling – with no luck – and couldn’t stop the blush that put some colour in her cheeks. “I couldn’t bear it either,” she quietly admitted, “I care about you more than I’d like to admit, and … I’m scared. I’d know the sound of your laugh anywhere, and I don’t want this to be a mistake.”

 

            “You don’t- you don’t think it’s wrong? Or a mistake?” Kara asked, her head jerking up to look at Lena in surprise.

 

            “I want you to stay,” Lena said, picking at a piece of wax that had dried on the floor, “I don’t want this to be the end. I want to hold onto this for as long as I can.”

 

            Kara nodded shyly, smiling as she picked up a piece of toast and took a small bite. They were both quiet as they at their toast and sipped their coffee, feeling elated at the revelation that they both wanted _more_ , which was a shock to them both. A New Year’s Kiss could be romantic, and was expected – even if two people were strangers – but this, staying the next morning, and making sure she was okay … it was more permanent than Lena had expected, because it spoke of how much Kara cared about her. It wasn’t just a brief kiss as the clock struck midnight, it was _more_.

 

            They finished their breakfast, and Kara put on some quiet music, before pulling out some bin bags from under Lena’s sink. Together, they began to clean up the apartment, bottles clinking together as they put them in the bags, and Kara hummed along to the music, while she swept the floor, making a neat pile of glitter and sequins, and occasionally finding another abandoned polaroid to add to the pile. They talked about last night, about the dancing and singing, and the drinking games, laughing over the shared memories as they cleaned up, and by the time they were done, the whole place was almost back to normal. The only thing that was different, were the grains of glitter that evaded being swept up, and some of the wax that they hadn’t managed to clean up.

 

            That, and the fact that as they both tied bags full of bottles and rubbish shut in the kitchen, Kara’s hand gently brushed against Lena’s, and they both looked up, hesitating slightly, before Kara slowly closed the gap between them, their noses gently bumping, before her lips came down on Lena’s in a soft kiss. It was perfectly sweet, and they both bit their lips as they pulled back, shyly smiling at each other. Kara cupped Lena’s cheek and leant forward to rest her forehead against Lena’s, letting their noses gently bump again. “Happy new year, Lena.”


End file.
